Both the teams are set to face each other while coming from the same route of disappointment. Where India lost the WTC final against Australia and on the other side, the team which used to dominate the world cricket failed to even qualify for the ODI World Cup after some embarrassing defeats in the Qualifiers of the World Cup.
This Test series will begin with both the teams hoping for a fresh start. There will be some fun gossip around because some of the players will be stepping into red-ball cricket for the first time.
Both of the teams and their Captains will be aiming to bring some new approaches to the game. This is the darkest time for West Indies Cricket when they are losing their spirit in White- Ball format of the game and getting their worst at the crucial time. This will be a perfect moment for them to cultivate a new mark in history to regain its regime by defeating the best red-ball playing nation and making a comeback to where they belong.
(Indian players preparing for the first test against West Indies. Source - BCCI)Both the Indian and West Indies sides are ready to adapt some new changes and welcome some new faces who can bring some good luck to their team,, who knows? Yashasvi Jaiswal who is just 21 is preparing to open with Rohit Sharma for his debut. Alick Athanaze who is 24. He is preparing to live upto the faith that Brian Lara has in him. Ajinkya Rahane who has made a terrific comeback with regaining his position as Vice Captain in the team knows that he has to be consistent for the team to mark the impact.Rahkeem Cornwall comes with all the potential in the world and though he has lived up to some of it with his offspin, a batting average of 18 from nine Test does not tally with just how good he can be.
Given the conditions, plenty of focus will be on the pitches that will be used for the games. If talking about the first test then Windsor Park in Dominica is hosting a Test match for the first time in over six years. So it will be ideal for the West Indies to go with their experienced pace attack like Kemar Roach whereas India can go with their two best informed spinners like Jadeja and Ashwin. Not to forget these quality spinners can thrash any seam friendly pitches with their crucial wicket taking spells.
Form Guide
Result of the last five test matches played by both sides (most recent)-
West Indies: L,L,W,D,L
India : L,D,L,W,W
Key players
This feels like a crucial year for Rohit Sharma who seems like a bit phased out of t20s already and his captaincy for the short format will depend on the way Indian Team performs. But for him, Test cricket seems to have a smooth and stable source for his natural game. India always takes pride in winning the away series but if they surely need to make a confident remark then Rohit needs to lay the foundation for his Team with Jaiswal. With the new opening pair in Test cricket, it should be the ideal thought to think that a new approach in the batting can be seen.
(In frame Tagenarine Chanderpaul. Image Source- Getty)Tagenarine Chanderpaul began his Test career by staring down the might of the Australian bowling attack on their own turf. It didn’t take a lot of time for him to put the lessons he learned on that tour to good use, scoring a double-century in his third match. The 27-year-old has his father’s stance and more importantly his hunger as well. Now to see if he has Shivnarine’s fondness (seven centuries at an average of 63.85) for Indian bowlers.
Team News
After giving a sure shot confirmation on the playing order by Rohit Sharma during the press conference. He confirmed that Gill was always suited for number 3 in a longer format of this game whereas Jaiiswal to open with him.With the fixed spot for number 4, Virat is no longer behind to regain his 50+ average in the Test format as a top order batsman. Talking about the pace attack then, Shami has been rested for the series to prepare for the upcoming Asia Cup. Siraj is having a fixed spot and will handle the Team’s pace line-up for the game.
India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 3 Shubman Gill, 4 Virat Kohli, 5 Ajinkya Rahane, 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 KS Bharat/Ishan Kishan (wk), 8 R Ashwin, 9 Shardul Thakur, 10 Jaydev Unadkat/Navdeep Saini/Mukesh Kumar, 11 Mohammed Siraj
West Indies (probable): 1 Kraigg Brathwaite (capt), 2 Tagenarine Chanderpaul, 3 Raymon Reifer, 4 Jermaine Blackwood, 5 Alick Athanaze, 6 Jason Holder, 7 Rahkeem Cornwall, 8 Joshua de Silva (wk), 9 Kemar Roach, 10 Alzarri Joseph, 11 Shannon Gabriel
